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View Full Version : DM Help Music as a background: Helpful or distracting?



CrazyCrab
2016-09-14, 07:08 PM
Hi everyone,
the more I watch online (and somewhat ''high budget'', at least when compared to most normal games) shows like 'Critical Role' the more I notice that the DMs like to add some music and sound effects. How do you feel about those? My group's not been using them very much, but I feel like they could add quite a bit to the atmosphere... especially in the horror scenes. People making silly noises with their mouths are not even remotely scary 99% of the time, at least when it comes to DMs and not voice actors.

Seeing how it's also a strange 70's / 80's apocalypse I was also considering adding some music from that time, especially in pubs, though combat music could work just as fine... I guess? Fallout does it pretty well and I've always been a fan of the dissonance. Adds to the bizarre, almost whimsical theme I'm going for.
I like to give bosses themes and gimmicks, so one gang always plays a ridiculously loud song when torturing / executing someone to mute them, I figured if I give them a memorable theme it could become a running threat... is it someone playing a jukebox or is something bad happening? That kind of stuff.

EDIT: I figured I may add an example to make it more clear. The leader of the gang likes to name his weapon and he called his most recent addition to the collection, a Flametongue Sword, 'Sharona', after his favorite song. So, when the PCs first hear the song the NPCs drop everything and run to hide, as they say that it's the boss himself and recommend that the party does the same. So, whenever the song begins afterwards it sets a theme (especially since the party will start at lv 1, all weak and helpless). Then when they all level up and want to face him, I'll make the song his battle theme, adding to the tension.
The question is, do you feel like an upbeat song like this one will be too much of a distraction?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1T71PGd-J0


So, do you feel like it's going to be distracting? Or is it a nice addon?

LudicSavant
2016-09-14, 09:27 PM
Music is helpful when applied properly, and distracting when applied improperly... same as in any other media.

Geddy2112
2016-09-14, 09:28 PM
So long as background music stays in the background, it is fine. It helps set the scene, but the music should be a minor thing-not too loud or anything that would inhibit the play of the game. Otherwise, it is like spice- a little goes a long way, don't overdo it.

Bards, sirens, harpies, and other sound based enemies/creatures/npc's always benefit from music, since they are usually making some sort of noise as a combat element or whatnot. A signature song for a boss or certain character is also fine. If players want to do this for bards or other musical characters, let them(but again, background, on occasion)

If you want a darker, more screaming violent version of my sharona I suggest this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InGpue11vQ0)(shameless plug for angsty grindcore I liked as a young lad)

I once had a party fight a danse macabre (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/undead/danse-macabre), a literal dance of death named after the Camille Saint-Saen's song of the same name. I played the classical piece in the background as the party fought, which made for a very memorable and awesome encounter.

One problem for music in combat is that combat takes a long time, so it better be a long song, or have it on repeat. Too much repetition will bore or irritate your players.

Squibsallotl
2016-09-14, 10:05 PM
I've run music with my games for years, to me its very helpful in setting a mood/tone to accompany the story. My general rules for D&D music are:
1) No vocals/lyrics, too distracting
2) Keep the volume low enough that players don't have to raise their voices to be heard, excepting perhaps big combat moments where you want raised voices and a sense of urgency
3) Each track should be at least 15 minutes in length, to prevent getting irritating during long fights or long story/RP sections. Nothing worse than a 2 minute track looping for an hour.

Youtube is your friend here. You can search for things like "ambient mix" for setup/roleplay/town, "mysterious mix" or "suspenseful ambient" for dungeon exploration or other scenes where you want to create tension, and naturally "combat mix" or "battle mix" for fights.

Fri
2016-09-14, 10:06 PM
A fun thing I like to do in rl game is preparing appropriate music for climax, and only play it when the expected thing happens. Like, when the cavalry charge coming, play appropriate awesome music.

Aetis
2016-09-14, 10:10 PM
When I play text-only games on roll20, having the right background music on is godsend.

LudicSavant
2016-09-14, 10:14 PM
When I play text-only games on roll20, having the right background music on is godsend.

Now if only I could find a decent way to play my own damn music to players on Roll20 (the soundcloud thing is a massive hassle as is). On OpenRPG you could just stream music straight from your own hard drive (though that feature got broken in a later patch and they never got around to fixing it).

Is there a decent program that would do the same thing ORPG used to do? I mean, there must be (it was added as an afterthought in ORPG) but I don't even know what search terms to put into google... I keep getting tons of unhelpful search results.

Lorsa
2016-09-15, 02:23 AM
So, do you feel like it's going to be distracting? Or is it a nice addon?

I've used background music since the very beginning. Whenever I've played without it, I've felt as though something is missing. Quite obviously though, the volume needs to be fairly low.

Never really used sound effects though. It is much harder to get right, takes a lot of time to search for, and easily feel gimmicky to me. I know of one GM who uses them, but he's always been obsessed with props.

Mastikator
2016-09-15, 02:52 AM
Music can be a great way to set the mood, however processing music takes mental energy, even if it's only in the background. If you get tired then the music becomes a distraction because you have to struggle to concentrate on the game.

At least that is my experience.

Slipperychicken
2016-09-15, 12:27 PM
I've run music with my games for years, to me its very helpful in setting a mood/tone to accompany the story. My general rules for D&D music are:
1) No vocals/lyrics, too distracting
2) Keep the volume low enough that players don't have to raise their voices to be heard, excepting perhaps big combat moments where you want raised voices and a sense of urgency
3) Each track should be at least 15 minutes in length, to prevent getting irritating during long fights or long story/RP sections. Nothing worse than a 2 minute track looping for an hour.


I came here to post exactly this, but you beat me to it.

Two other things: The "loop" option in youtube is also your friend (right click, select "loop"). And try not to use music that someone will recognize, because you probably don't want to risk a 30 minute discussion of whatever media you got your music from.

Green Elf
2016-09-15, 07:25 PM
It may sound weird but as long as they are not listening to the music. Keep it VERY low so they concentrate on the GM and the actual game.

Aetis
2016-09-15, 09:50 PM
Now if only I could find a decent way to play my own damn music to players on Roll20 (the soundcloud thing is a massive hassle as is). On OpenRPG you could just stream music straight from your own hard drive (though that feature got broken in a later patch and they never got around to fixing it).

Is there a decent program that would do the same thing ORPG used to do? I mean, there must be (it was added as an afterthought in ORPG) but I don't even know what search terms to put into google... I keep getting tons of unhelpful search results.

You could make an account on soundcloud and upload your own music.

I did that once when I needed a very specific music in one of my games.

GungHo
2016-09-16, 07:43 AM
If they're supposed to hear music (scene at a bar), I play music.

I do not, however, run a board and have "fight music" or "drama music" or wacky radio sounders.

I do reserve the right to play Adele during every couple fight.

prufock
2016-09-16, 08:34 AM
I often use Tabletop Audio (http://www.tabletopaudio.com/). It is mostly subtle, and I play it fairly low so it isn't too distracting. I find it adds some good atmosphere a lot of the time.

Of course it depends on the game. I'm going to be running a Paranoia session for Halloween, which will have all kinds of odd sounds and weird music.

LudicSavant
2016-09-16, 10:37 AM
You could make an account on soundcloud and upload your own music.

I did that once when I needed a very specific music in one of my games.

As I said in my earlier post, I consider the Soundcloud thing on Roll20 to be a massive hassle (e.g. you have to slowly upload the piece, then you have to search for it on Roll20, and then you have to wait for it to discover it which can take like 15 minutes).

On OpenRPG I could just click on a file in my hard drive and it would immediately start streaming to everyone else in the room. I want a capability like this one. Surely there must be a program in the sea of the internet that has this feature that used to be in OpenRPG? (It's not in OpenRPG now because they broke it in a patch and then stopped updating)

That's what I need. I need to find a program where I can pick something off of my computer and immediately start streaming it... even if I didn't necessarily know I'd want to use that track 20 minutes ahead of time.

Telesto
2016-09-16, 10:40 AM
Depends on the music. I tend to use music while gaming.

If it is managing setting details and adding a bit of background, it's fine to maintain it and play.

If you have made a musical reference or are using it to instill a point during the game (the party just met Danny Elfman and sold him a corpse, so you play Dead Man's Party as an inside joke/foreshadowing), usually you stop or pause for the music.

Delicious Taffy
2016-09-16, 11:55 AM
One of my players tends to outright refuse to start the game, unless he can pick the music that plays. He also plays it loudly enough that we have to speak louder or shout a bit to be heard over it, and refuses to turn it down, insisting we simply speak up. He has a tendency to just go to YouTube, look up "Epic fantasy music", and go for whatever has the nicest thumbnail on it. These are almost exclusively unfitting, mood-swinging tracks, the vast majority of which have loud, sweeping build-ups that go on and on for what seems like hours, with no payoff.

When I complain about this, he thinks the solution is simply to pick a different track. The problem with that is, they're all the same. Some of them are the exact same track, just uploaded by someone else and with a different picture. He'll also bounce back and forth between tracks for upward of 10 minutes, just to find a single one he likes, often in the middle of the game, which brings everything to a complete halt. I've told him multiple times that this is not acceptable, but it's his house we usually play at, so he thinks his will overrides everyone else's. I recently moved out of town, and I have to say, playing over Skype is so much more relaxing, because I'm not cramped into a corner of the room, trying to shout over his obnoxiously-loud music.

The moral of the story is, music can add to the experience, but don't be like this player, and don't allow your own players to be this way.

Telesto
2016-09-16, 12:21 PM
Honestly, your players should not be picking the music (some leeway exists but it's circumstantial).

As the GM it's your job to deal with setting details. Music is a setting detail used to bring people into the world. If it doesn't fit the mood you are trying to cultivate, it can only detract from gameplay.

The circumstances where a player would be picking the music are ones where the GM and player are working together for the goal of setting the mood.

Aetis
2016-09-17, 09:18 PM
As I said in my earlier post, I consider the Soundcloud thing on Roll20 to be a massive hassle (e.g. you have to slowly upload the piece, then you have to search for it on Roll20, and then you have to wait for it to discover it which can take like 15 minutes).

On OpenRPG I could just click on a file in my hard drive and it would immediately start streaming to everyone else in the room. I want a capability like this one. Surely there must be a program in the sea of the internet that has this feature that used to be in OpenRPG? (It's not in OpenRPG now because they broke it in a patch and then stopped updating)

That's what I need. I need to find a program where I can pick something off of my computer and immediately start streaming it... even if I didn't necessarily know I'd want to use that track 20 minutes ahead of time.

That would be an awesome program. If you find it, link me up.

Lemmy
2016-09-17, 09:55 PM
I think I'm in a minority here, but honestly... I don't like it.

It's a bit too distracting. I can only tolerate it when the song has no vocals and is not from a famous game/movie/etc (to avoid people stopping the game to go "Hey! I know this one! It's the theme song of Boss X from game Y!".

It's already difficult to keep every player focused (specially in larger groups). No need to make it extra-hard.

Beleriphon
2016-09-18, 10:07 AM
I've found a Finnish "folk metal" band Turisas recently and I actually think the vast majority of their music would work as background. It has more than just speed guitar and heavy drums. There's piano, violin/fiddle and even accordion solos. Plus 90% of their songs are about vikings. But the reason I think they're great is the heavy metal cover of Boney M's Rasputin.

vasilidor
2016-09-20, 07:10 AM
this is a question which you should direct towards the people you play with. I have been in games where there was background music and those without. some people cant handle the extra noise, others cant focus without it. if you have any doubts in this regard ask your fellow players. the playlist should be non-distracting and non-irritating. if you do have a playlist and someone says they don't like song "x" don't play song "x". any and all song request should be made before game starts (preferably a few days before hand to give others a chance to listen to it to see if they hate it, like it or are indifferent).

Talk to the people you play with, get there feed back.